Conflicting court rulings on Missouri map threaten November’s election | First Thing
The state can’t use new congressional districts under one court order – or its old ones under another. Plus, the architects in Europe turning urban spaces into areas of climate...
By Martin Belam · The Guardian World
The state can’t use new congressional districts under one court order – or its old ones under another. Plus, the architects in Europe turning urban spaces into areas of climate respite Good morning. Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri’s congressional elections into uncertainty less than two months before the November midterms that will decide which party controls a closely divided Congress. Conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the emergency request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn with Donald Trump’s support to give Republicans an edge in the midterms, but a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri temporarily prevented the state from using its old congressional maps. Why is there legal action over the maps? The Missouri supreme court has previously ruled that the new map must go before voters to approve or reject the new districts, meaning it cannot be used in time for the November election. The president and Republicans had fumed over the decision, with Trump calling it “horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional”. What are the significant changes to the map intended to favor Republicans? The revised map targeted the fifth congressional district, held by longtime Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigned portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretched the remainder of Cleaver’s district far eastward into rural Republican areas. What has the British prime minister said? Writing in the Guardian, Andy Burnham said he would “not stand by” as horrific suffering continued, and that for too long the UK had been hesitant to act “fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel”. “The measures we are taking,” he said, “are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole.” How has Israel reacted? Israel has ordered the closure of the Brit…